On 8th September 1943, Italy signed an armistice with
the Allies. The news did not surprise the Germans, who moved quickly to disarm Italian
units. In Rhodes, the small Sturmdivision "Rhodes" was easily able to disarm some 5,000
Italians, except for those who choose to continue to fight by their side. For Churchill, this
is the perfect opportunity to take control of the Dodecanese Islands, and so encourage
Turkey , he claimed, into the Allied camp. The British therefore hastily organized a combined operation and in default of Rhodes, Kos and settled upon Leros with the support
of the Italian garrisons. Other smaller islands hosted special forces garrisons such as the
Special Boat Squadron - SBS - and the Long Range Desert Group - LRDG - for harassing
the Germans. But the Germans were quick to react. On 3rd October, they launched the
operation "Eisbar" - polar bear - and landed in Kos, three days later. Other skirmishes
took place elsewhere. Symi, north of Rhodes, was a base for the SBS but also for the
personnel of a RAF Spitfire Squadron en route to Kos. On October 7, a large caique -
Greek packet ship - entered the port to disembark by surprise a very Italian-German
contingent…
Attacker: German / Italian Facists (Elements of Sturm-Division "Rhodos" and of Milizia Voluntarie per la Sicurezza Nazionale)
Defender: British / Italian (Elements of 50 Divisione Fanteria "Regina", Special Boat Squadron, Long Range Desert Group and N.74 Squadron, RAF)
7.5 turns
Players: 2 OBA: None Night: No
Unit Counts:
Squads: A:16.0 D:18.0
AFVs: A:0
AFVs: D:0
Guns: A:0 D:0
Misc Rules:
A: possible reinforcement squads on dr Turns 3-5 w: D: poss Stukas Turn 5 on
